Cynthia L. Attwood

On January 20, 2021, President Joseph Biden designated Cynthia L. Attwood Chair of the Review Commission. This is her second designation as Chair.  Chair Attwood was first appointed to the Commission by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2010. She was reappointed by President Obama in August 2013. Chair Attwood was again reappointed by President Donald Trump on January 9, 2020. She served as Acting Chairman and then Chairman from April 2015 until January 2017.

Prior to her appointment to the Commission, Chair Attwood spent 30 years in the Federal government as a lawyer and judge. She served for three years as an Administrative Appeals Judge on the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board, adjudicating appeals brought under many labor laws and regulations. She also served in the Senior Executive Service at DOL for over ten years, as Associate Solicitor for Occupational Safety and Health, and before that as Associate Solicitor for Mine Safety and Health.  As a result of her work at the Department of Labor President George H.W. Bush awarded her the rank of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service.

Chair Attwood began her legal career as an appellate attorney in the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, where she litigated cases before the Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals.

A native of Oak Park, Illinois, Chair Attwood holds a B.A. degree from Oakland University and a J.D. degree from the University of Minnesota, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, served on the Law Review, and was awarded membership in the Order of the Coif.

 

Amanda Wood Laihow

Amanda Wood Laihow is a Commissioner at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission appointed by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the Senate on January 9, 2020.

Prior to her appointment as a Commissioner, Ms. Laihow most recently served as Chief Counsel to Chairman James J. Sullivan, Jr., where she was the primary legal advisor to the Chairman, giving critical, independent and innovative legal advice on all pending matters.

Previously, Ms. Laihow was the Director of Labor and Employment Policy for the National Association of Manufacturers. As a labor and employment policy expert, she advocated on significant labor issues pertaining to employee health and safety under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act and anti-discrimination laws.

Prior to her private sector experience, Ms. Laihow served as Deputy General Counsel on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee working on labor and employment legislation affecting both private and public sector employees and also served an Assistant General Counsel at the U.S. General Services Administration.

A Maine native, Ms. Laihow received her J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire.